An Empty Stone
by hostilecrayon
Summary: It would be his last visit to Innoshima. An AkiHika friendship fic.


Title: An Empty Stone  
Author: hostilecrayon  
Pairing: Friendship, Touya Akira and Shindou Hikaru  
Rating: G  
Word Count: 1,229  
Disclaimer: Hikaru no Go was created by Hotta and Obata and distributed by Viz, Shogakuen and Shonen Jump.  
Summary: This would be his last visit to Innoshima.  
Notes: When I told Ladylark that my hard drive was down and thus I couldn't enter the contest since I was past the deadline already, she demurely told me that I had about three hours until she would do the final sweep of submitted entries, but assured me I shouldn't rush myself. ...Telling me I have three hours is just kicking my muse into overdrive. The muse likes challenges of my insanity. I mean, it had to be over 1,000 words even. But hey, I managed it. And I actually kind of like it, too. The last quarter feels a bit awkward and maybe rushed, but overall, I think it has a decent feel to it. Not that I expect it to win any awards or anything. I just had an overwhelming need to submit something in my brother's name.

In remembrance of John Joseph Miller, October 4, 1981 – June 12, 1999. Though my brother is gone, he will forever live on in our hearts and minds. Written for the In Remembrance of Contest at Media Miner.

**An Empty Stone**

Hikaru didn't have a reason for asking Touya to come with him to Innoshima other than it felt right. His Go had been connected with Touya as much as, if not more than Sai, and as his life moved forward, so too did their rivalry. As much as Sai had influenced his Go, there were times when Touya's influence dominated. He knew it was time to take another step forward.

This would be his last visit to Innoshima.

The rode the subway in silence, Touya knowing, as he sometimes instinctually does, that there was something deeper behind this trip than visiting Shuusaku's memorial. They passed an embassy on the way, its flag flying at half-mast, and though Hikaru felt badly about whatever loss the country had suffered, he couldn't help but feel it was an appropriate sentiment for the fifth of May.

The mood was somber as they walked the crowded platform despite the cheerful people milling around them, and Touya did not question Hikaru when he led him down an old, beaten road. There was no need for words at this point. They would come in time; anything else would just be meaningless. Touya understood, and Hikaru knew that he had made the right decision.

It wasn't a long trip, but the rough roads and frequent changes in incline had left both boys sufficiently out of breath as they stood in the driveway of an ancient house with a graveyard that ran for kilometers surrounding the back half of it. Touya took in the sight with a sharp intake of breath, but Hikaru's eyes just stared, sweeping over the landscape as if memorizing every detail.

If Touya thought it strange when Hikaru bypassed the house and headed straight for the graveyard, he didn't show it.

Shindou stopped abruptly before a large headstone and Touya kept his distance, knowing without looking that they had arrived at Shuusaku's grave. He merely observed quietly, waiting for his rival to be ready to tell him why he had brought him here. He felt the answer would be momentous, and a small part of him feared that it would change them both irreversibly.

After a time, Hikaru stepped closer to the stone, running his fingers over the lettering carved there. He could clearly remember the moment Sai came crashing into his life, changing him from a rambunctious boy with little future to a serious Go player with a passion he'd never felt for anything before. To Hikaru, Sai was the beginning of life as he knew it and the only reason he knew the shy but serious rival who knew him better than anyone else could ever hope to. Just as Sai had brought Hikaru to Touya, Hikaru now brought Touya to Sai in the only way he knew how.

It had taken both Sai and Touya to truly bring out his interest and talent in Go, and thinking about the fateful day he had pointed at Touya and said, "There's a kid! Can I play him?" had him reliving it all over again. The way Touya had smiled and allowed him an even game; Sai's tears at finally being able to play again after nearly one hundred years; Touya's distress over having lost. It was all a part of his history now, but that one single day had been the beginning of everything, and it was something he would never forget.

And now Sai was gone. He lived on in Hikaru's Go, as Hikaru knew very well, but there would be no more fond memories of Sai and his astonishment of modern things, nor anymore games to play with him. He had left this world, leaving the most important gift of purpose with Hikaru. His hand found the fan sticking out of his back pocket and he gripped it tightly. It was a gift he planned to use to the fullest. But then, with Sai in his Go and Touya Akira as his rival, he knew he would.

Touya couldn't know what Shindou was thinking, but the slight smile on his face and the contradicting tears on his cheeks told him enough.

When Hikaru turned and sat, back pressed against the tombstone, Touya followed suit, sitting close enough to be companionable, but giving Shindou room to mourn. In a way, it was awkward seeing Shindou like this, but he knew it was a gift that he should treasure, and if nothing else came of this trip, he would be satisfied with it.

When Shindou finally spoke, it startled Touya, but not because of the sudden sound.

"Akira."

Touya had known that there would be a day that their friendship would move beyond just Go, but the subitaneousness of it was almost alarming. It reinforced his fear that whatever came next would indeed change them both, but at the same time, he felt that this very moment had almost taken too long to arrive. Understanding that this would take them from being friendly rivals to being real, honest to goodness friends, he replied, "Hikaru."

Hikaru smiled and began his story.

The light had grown dim, the air was much colder and Hikaru's voice had long since gone hoarse from talking when he finally finished. As completely incredible as the story had been, Akira did not doubt it for a second, and he knew that this was part of the reason Hikaru had brought him.

"I won't be coming back here," Hikaru said then, and Akira nodded, getting up and brushing off his pants.

"Then you should say your goodbyes." He turned and walked down the rocky path, gravel crunching beneath his feet.

Hikaru turned to face the stone once again, his eyes no longer seeing.

"I miss you, Sai, but you know that already, don't you?" He grit his teeth, tears falling as he gripped his fan tighter. "There's so much I could say right now, but I won't. You don't live here. You are beyond this world now, and there is no place I can find you. I know that. This memorial has helped me many times to cope with that which I could not overcome. But it is only an empty stone. Your memory lives in my heart and in my Go. I think maybe I understand that now in a way that my young mind, wrapped in fresh pain, could not. I'll never forget you, but this place holds no memories for me. This is a place for you and Torajirou, and I think it's finally time for me to stop bothering him. You are always with me, and when I reach the Hand of God, you will be with me then. Akira too will be with me, and now that he knows, I think he'd be okay with the three of us reaching that goal together." His fingers found the engraved letters again, and he said, "Goodbye, Torajirou. Keep Sai company until I get there, okay?"

He walked away slowly, a light smile on his lips as he rejoined Akira in the driveway entrance.

"Are you ready?"

"Yes. There's nothing here for me anymore."

Akira put a comforting hand on Hikaru's shoulder, then he began walking, leading the way back to the station.

Hikaru followed with no regrets, visions of a man with serious violet eyes and raven black hair finally able to touch the Go stones once more.


End file.
